The rewards are worth the effort
A Devilishly Delicious Dish is a quest that is accessible near the beginning of Octopath Traveler 2. In the New Delsta tavern, you’ll spot a Tavern Cook who is looking to prepare a new dish to attract customers. He suggests making something with the “Delsta Devil,” which is located in a cave east of the city. This sounds easy enough, but early game players should exercise caution before giving this cook what he needs.
The quest will take you to an area with a Danger Level of 34. This is doable at lower levels than this, though you’ll definitely want secondary jobs and sturdy equipment on your team to boost your stats. You’ll also need at least one Path Action for obtaining items. Partitio, Throné, Agnea, and Osvald are all viable, so make sure at least one of them is on your team. Despite what some of the clues might indicate, Ochette actually isn’t needed to complete A Devilishly Delicious Dish. Use her if you’d like, but don’t rearrange your party if she’s not leveled. Anywhere, here’s what you need to do.
Travel to the Sunken Maw
Just like the Tavern Cook says, the Sunken Maw is a cave found a moderate distance east from New Delsta. To get there, travel to the Western Clockbank Highroad. Look for the dock near the center of the area, and travel directly south once you’re in the boats. Go under the bridge and you’ll enter the Sunken Maw.
This is a proper optional area with loads of treasure chests to open, so feel free to explore. You’ll want to eventually work your way toward the area’s save point, where you’ll see a ladder leading upward. Don’t bother to heal up, since you aren’t fighting a boss… yet. Climb the ladder and you’ll see a small shack across a small pool. Make sure to grab the red treasure chest hiding a healthy sum of 13,500 leaves and cross the water.
Once inside, you’ll see an Elderly Fishing Enthusiast. If you talk to him, he’ll give you the hint that Delsta Devils are hiding in the cave. However, they require special bait to appear. Fortunately for you, the Enthusiast has the bait you need on him. Use your Path Action of choice to snag the Special Bait, and feel free to take the other two items from him as well.
With the Special Bait in hand, travel back down the ladder and use that save point. Now you should prepare to fight a boss battle. Go in the water and travel east. You’ll come to a small clearing with even more extra treasure for you to grab. Grab the goodies and look for a darker section of water to the slight left of the clearing’s center. You’ll be prompted to use your Special Bait, which will trigger the encounter with the Delsta Devil.
How to defeat the Delsta Devil
Fortunately, if you’ve been able to hang with the enemies in the Sunken Maw, the Delsta Devil shouldn’t give you much trouble. It doesn’t even get special battle music, that’s how uneventful it is! That said, if you’ve been running from battles trying to clear this quest at a low level, you should take this fight seriously.
The Delsta Devil is weak to Polearms, Daggers, Bows, and Lightning. With only four shield points, it’s fortunately easy to break. Lean into your party’s best strategies and take it down as fast as you can. It has 5,700 HP.
With the boss defeated, you’ll receive a message informing you that you’ve captured the Delsta Devil. Head back to New Delsta and talk to the Tavern Cook. He’ll thank you for the gift and a small scene will play out. As a reward, you’ll receive the Master Rod sword, the Chef’s Ladle staff, and 5000 leaves. Don’t be fooled by their names; these are fantastic weapons with roughly 200 points in Physical and Elemental Attack respectively in addition to other effects. Completing this quest as soon as you can is well worth the effort, so make sure to double back and finish this if your team can’t quite make the cut just yet.
